Restaurant Review: Raisu

By Sherman Chan,
Special to The Post

 

The Sho Ka Do Bento consisted of nine little dishes that included steak, scallop, tuna tataki and wasabi ika, fried shiitake mushroom, grilled salmon, minced shrimp & scallop Japanese omelette, stewed shrimp and vegetables in an orange bowl, vinegar soy marinated seafood and Japanese tai snapper sashimi salad with apple vinegar jelly. The fish quality was decent. The fried shiitake was excellent with a burst of umaminess. The pressed sushi topped with hamachi, saba, salmon, snapper, sayori, snow crab, tuna tataki, unagi, amaebi, hotate and botan ebi were above-average quality.

We got a double order of the Ebi Mayo which were more like mini-lobster tails. Sporting a gluten-free batter, they were crispy and not greasy. The large prawn was meaty with a solid snap. It was naturally sweet and aromatic. Loved that they served the mayo on the side. The Chicken Karaage was also coated with a gluten-free batter which was also crispy and light. The chicken was succulent and had a nice rebound texture. It wasn't inherently seasoned too much, but the side of wok salt and wedge of lemon did the trick.

Lastly, the Grilled Duck was fabulous with rendered skin and appealingly tender meat. It was super flavourful with a gamy sweetness (from the sweet miso marinade) which had depth.  The yuzu mayo sauce on the side was creamy with a touch of tartness. This duck dish as well as most of the other cooked items were actually quite tasty and well-prepared. The raw items were beautiful and totally IG-worthy, but for the price, I wasn't as convinced. I guess with the many options for Japanese food in the Lower Mainland, there will be plenty of competition.

 

Raisu

2340 West 4th Avenue, Vancouver, BC

 

The Good:

• Some visually-appealing dishes

• Generally tasty eats

• Attentive service

 

The Bad:

• Pricey

• Not that it didn't taste good, but some dishes looked better than they ate

 

Sherman Chan is the #1 ranked food blogger on the Vancouver portal of Urbanspoon.com. Read more of his reviews at www.shermansfoodadventures.com.

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